Because A Mortal Song is set in Japan, in the month leading up to the book’s release I wanted to celebrate some of the amazing media out there by Japanese creators. I’ll be highlighting my favorite books, TV shows, and films (as well as some snack box services—you need something to munch on while you’re doing all that watching and reading!). You can find a full list of my faves and other resources here on my website.

What you get: TokyoTreat offers their monthly themed boxes in three sizes, from $15 a month for 5-7 snacks to $35 a month for 13-17 snacks plus a guaranteed DIY kit, drink, and other special item. The boxes ship from Tokyo, with free shipping worldwide.

Review of the box:
I got the July large-sized box, for which the theme was Anime Characters. The outside of the box had a pretty design which you can see above and that extended into the interior, and TokyoTreat’s booklet was the most detailed and professional-looking of all the boxes I reviewed, including seasonal information about Japanese holidays and traditions, instructions for the DIY sets, and extra info about particular treats.

And, of course, a lot of snacks!As before, I jotted down my thoughts on each of the snacks as I tried them out and gave them a rating out of 3 (0 = nope, 1 = all right, 2 = quite good, 3 = OMG where can I get more of this?).

Milk-flavored Potato Chips – These light chips were a bit odd, because the chips were savory but the milk flavor on them sweet. I usually like sweet and salty together, but although I enjoyed these somewhat, I’m not sure the balance was ideal. 2.

Black Thunder Gold – Great chocolate bar: sweet but not too sweet, the chocolate rich, and a great mix of creamy/chewy chocolate and crispy, crunchy wafer. I liked this a lot! 3.

Fortune-telling Chocolate Pills (Dagashi Kashi) – The idea behind these is cute, but the actual tiny chocolates were kind of bland, like mini smarties or M&Ms. 1.

Thomas & Friends Chocolate Pretzel Sticks – These sticks were basically a Pocky imitation, but with less icing and a harder, more bland biscuit, so less tasty. 1.

Anpanman Ramune Candy – The candies had a nice texture, crunchy and not too powdery, lightly sweet with a light fruit flavor. 2.

Yokai Watch Chocolate – Very cute chocolate “popsicle”—I almost didn’t want to eat it. 🙂 The milk chocolate was creamy but a bit chalky, and the top layers with different colors looked as if they should have different flavors but all I tasted was chocolate throughout. 1.

Thomas & Friends Chewing Candy – I don’t generally like artificial grape flavor, and the candies proved to be no exception. For someone who does like the taste, the texture was enjoyably chewy and substantial. 1.

Pokemon Gummy – These candies were a little softer than I usually like my gummies, but had a nice smooth texture and a mild fruity flavor. 1.

Dragon Ball Heroes Snack 5 – These tasted like North American cheese puffs—I enjoyed them well enough, but there was nothing very exciting or unique about them. 1.

Marutake Peach Drink – This beverage came in a squeezable plastic bottle, which was interesting. The drink was mildly sweet, noncarbinated, and vaguely fruity, nice enough but nothing standout about it. 1.

Moko Moko Mokolet Toilet DIY Candy 3 – This gets one point just for unique-ness: You literally assemble a five-piece mini plastic toilet! The candy (which you drink through a straw) was a little more sour than I usually prefer, but somewhat tasty. 2.

Soybean Flour Mochi Rice Cake DIY – This DIY kit was very simple to prepare and very tasty, with a nice balance of dry flour with soft jelly. The jelly was very smooth and had a subtle nutty flavor that I loved. 3.

Cocotama Snack – These heart-shaped, fluffy, and crunchy biscuits had a corn cereal-like texture and taste with a light artificial strawberry flavor that worked well in combination. I enjoyed these a lot! 3.

Brazilian Orange Pocky – I always enjoy Pocky, and this was a unique (seasonal) flavor I’ve never encountered before. The light artificial orange flavor in the icing tasted great with the biscuit. 3.

Shrimp Crackers – The crackers had a nice crunch and texture, but I couldn’t taste the shrimp flavor at all, which was disappointing because I really like shrimp chips and crackers usually! 1.

Caipis Gummy – These gummies were lightly sweet with a light citrus flavor, almost creamy in taste. They were soft but satisfyingly chewy. I really liked them. 3.

Overall thoughts: Unfortunately I was overall disappointed with this box. Many of the snacks were bland or just okay. I might blame that on the focus being finding character-based candies, but I had the same problem with the ones that weren’t character candies too. It’s too bad, because the packaging and booklet were standouts for sure!